Mass Effect: The Human Quarian, Continued
by P4-34-M0
Summary: During a search for resources a group of Quarian marines come across a lab where they were trying to create a perfect sleeper agents. They succeeded. Watch as this young boy grows up in the Migrant Fleet were he goes from a simple Quarian on his Pilgrimage to serving with the first Human Specter. THE FIRST ONE: /s/8993151/10/Mass-Effect-The-Human-Quarian
1. Chapter 1: Freewheeling Fistfights

**If you're reading this, it means I got the Go Ahead from Disciple of Revan to continue this awesome story. In the future, I'll be working closely with him to keep this story alive and kicking.**

 **It's going to work a little like** ** _The heart knows_** **, in that it mostly follows the spaces between missions. I will do most full missions, but beware, I have NEVER played Mass Effect. I watched a Play-though, and I've read the Wiki extensively (NOT!) so please correct me if I get something wrong.**

 **Disclaimer: It's true, I haven't touched a Mass Effect game... yet…**

 **oo00O00oo**

 **General POV:**

Mia'toon sat, staring blankly at the glass wall that separated her from her boy. He was tucked into a bed in one of the best hospitals on the Citadel, nothing less would Shepherd settle for. Wires of all kinds were hooked to his exo-suit, feeding vital information to the monitors around him. Jay hadn't moved two hours, the combination of tranquilizer, mild anaphylactic shock from said tranquilizer, and Biotic strain had knocked him out cold.

 _'I mean, really,'_ Mia fumed to herself, _'What kind of idiot shoots a Dextro full of Levo drugs?!'_

Granted, Jay was inherently Levo, but an absence of them in his everyday life had rendered him allergic to them. Not life threateningly, but still dangerously.

Shepard was inside the room, talking with one of the doctors at the moment. From the red color of the commander's face, it was clear to see that that the Asari doctor didn't quite understand just what 'Half-breed' meant. They had run into this problem hundreds of times in the past few hours since everyone felt they needed to help disillusion the Quarian mother as to her son's species.

"Keelah," She muttered, "I could have him patched up by now."

The door flew open, and Shepard stomped out, Jay throws unceremoniously over one shoulder. Tali, who had curled up on the bench with her head in Mia's lap, shot upright, peppering Shepherd with questions.

"He's fine." Shepard waved the flustered Quarian off, setting Jay on his feet, "Just a little groggy at the moment. I got them to patch his suit up and shot him full of antibiotics. Let's head out and get him some food."

Jay swayed for a second when Shepard's hands left his shoulders, then fell forward into Tali. The girl yelped, catching him before he hit the floor.

"Tali?" He groaned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tali scolded, " _You_ just tried to imitate the Mako."

"Yeah," Jay winced, his speech clearing up a little, "In hindsight, it was a bad idea to throw myself out into open space while traveling at high speeds, I'll make a note."

As the group checked out at the front door a pair of human eyes followed them, or more specifically, Jay.

"Operative Lawson." The owners of the eyes spoke into his omni-tool, "I've located Subject 020. Apprehend?"

"NO!" The voice of his commander chilled his bones, "You do that and we're all dead."

"What should I do?"

"Follow them. We're moving to Plan Theta."

The Cerberus agent grinned, he loved this one, "Moving to follow."

oo00O00oo

 **Jay's POV;**

If I'm completely honest with myself, I was a little putout when I woke up. This was, what, the second time I'd kicked butt and passed out in as many days? Hearing about it later was cool and all, but I had to get the whole, go out with a bang, thing under control. And now here I was, heavily disoriented, and just a tad concerned, as Tali dragged me through the thoroughfares of the Citadel following in Mom's wake. It's funny how such a short woman can command the amount of danger she does. The only being I've ever met with a more dangerous air was-

COMMANDER SHEPARD!

My brain and feet ground to a screeching halt, frantically trying to divine where the hell the Commander was, and if I could escape into the nearby pond before she materialized out of thin air and-

Shepard grabbed the hard-point tether clip between my shoulder-blades, "Keep walking."

The hard-point tether clip was designed as a safety precaution for Quarians working on the outside of the Fleet. It functioned with an old-fashion rope tied off to the hard-point to keep engineers from floating away if their Mag-boots failed. It also, as was being demonstrated now, worked to keep troublesome younglings in line.

So here I was, trapped between the girl I wanted to spend my life with but didn't deserve, and the woman I never wanted to see again, but couldn't get away from. I think the human term was 'Just Peachy'. Not really sure why, but it fit.

Mom turned off the main street and ushered us inside a well-kept diner. The sign in the window cheerily informed us that they catered to both Levo and Dextro.

Shepard frog marched me to a table near the back and sat me down HARD. If I can't sit down again for a while, blame Shepard. Mom ordered protein shakes for herself, me and Tali. Shepard got ground meat between two slices of bread. After the Turian waitress delivered our food Shepard got right to business.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

I pulled the pipette I had been using to eat out of my filter port and hinged my vocalization module, the pretty white light that flashes hypnotically when we talk, back into place, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? What do you mean?! I saw the security camera footage while you were knocked out. Did you actually thinking suicide would solve your problems?!"

"MY PROBLEMS?!" I shouldn't be yelling at my commanding officer, but at this point, I didn't care, "You're the one with a freak for a nephew!" I pointed at Tali, who flinched away, "And She's the one who's bonding to a MONSTER!"

I slammed my hands down on the table, Biotics glowing around them, "I'm sorry it ended up this way, but it can't go on. Tali deserves so much more than I can ever offer, and you don't need another reason for people to criticize you."

The noise level in the diner had dropped from comfortable chatter to still silence.

"Tali," I croaked, forcing the words out through my tears. In an offhanded way I wondered, as I took her three-fingered hands in mine, can real Quarians cry? "Tali, I'm your friend. Always have been, always will be. But you need a real Quarian, not the watered down version I am."

Tali ripped her hands away from mine, and for one miserably happy second, I thought she had rejected me. Then her fist collided with my face plate.

"You fucking bosh'tet!" She screamed, following me down as I tipped out of my chair. "I don't deserve ANYTHING!" She straddled my stomach, raining blows on my head and shoulders as I threw my hands up to protect my face plate, "I don't NEED a real Quarian!" Her punches weakened till she was just bracing herself on my shoulders, hers shaking violently as she struggled to draw breath.

"I-I need," A little spot appeared on the inside of her face plate, then another, and another. Tears. "I need y-you, Jay."

Her face plate was so close to mine, I imagined for a second that I could see her smiling.

"I'm so sorry," She whimpered, "So sorry."

And she was beautiful. Even if we had never met face-to-face, deep down I knew she was. We laughed, and cried, and then laughed some more. I pulled her down and hugged her, crushing her to me in my relief. I wanted this moment to last forever. The patrons of the diner had been more than fair holding their peace for as long as they had, so I kept my death threats to myself as Tali and I scrambled up off the floor, our hands still clasped.

"Friends?" I asked tentatively.

"Always."

The moment ended abruptly as a pair of C-sec officers burst through the door, pistols aimed squarely at Tali and me.

"FREEZE!" The Salarian shouted, his Asari partner quickly sweeping the bar for hostiles. Having been trained for combat, I could see that these two were fresh out of the academy, well skilled but green as hell. I decided to humor them for the sake of not getting shot and put my hands behind my head.

oo00O00oo

 **Two and a half hours later:**

I shifted in my chair as the officer seated across from me, Armando-Owen Bailey, rubbed his temples for the umpteenth time.

"Look, kid." He sighed, "You already gave your statement. This would be a lot quicker if you just answered the questions correctly."

He shuffled the tabs on his terminal, "Okay. Name?"

"Jay'toon nar Rayya."

"Occupation?"

"Engineer and Marine for the Specter vessel Normandy."

"Race."

"Quarain."

Bailey slammed his head down on his desk. I had never been happier to have my face hidden then right then because my grin was too wide it MUST have been criminal. As far as I knew, it was illegal to harass officers of the law, but I had been in here for TWO FREAKING HOURS, I figured I was entitled to a little guilty pleasure.

Not that I felt guilty at all about this, quite the opposite in fact.

"Officer Bailey?" A Turian Officer stuck her head in the door, "The genetic analysis you wanted just came back from the lab."

"Thank you." Bailey turned to me, "There, I can now PROVE that you're a human." He fired up the data on his terminal with a triumphant smirk, which fell only seconds later.

"Letha!" He shouted.

The Turin stuck her head back in the door, "What's up?"

Bailey turned his screen to face her, "Explain this to me."

The Turian studied the screen, then me, then started to turn back to the screen before whipping back to me. She glanced at Bailey.

"We, uh, we ran all seven test you ordered."

"Then why is this computer telling me that a Human is a Quarian? Explain that to me."

"It can't have been a malfunction, not if all the tests say the same thing. So that leaves tampering, which is the most likely since he's a suit ra-"

Bailey cut the Officer off, "I will not tolerate prejudice in this investigation. I asked for an explanation that would hold up under pressure, not half-baked scheme based on what your last conquest told you."

The Turian's sub-harmonics rumbled in indignation before she stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Well'p," Bailey leaned back in his chair, "Looks like you were telling the truth. You really are a Quarian." He tapped away for a moment, then sighed, "Now that we've established your race, you're free to go."

Before he was even done talking, I was off like a dirty shirt.

oo00O00oo

 **General POV:**

Tali drummed her hands nervously on the arm of her chair. Beside her, Shepard tapped away on her omni-tool, coordinating the resupply of the Normandy.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Quarian safe cuisine outside the Migrant Fleet?"

Tali groaned, "You really don't need to go to all this trouble, Shepard. We can just run Dextro rations through the blender."

"The blender that needs to be labeled so none of the other crew uses it."

Jay huffed and crossed his arms, trotting up to the bench his captain, mother, and friend occupied, "The 'Kaidan vs. Red Blender' indecent was NOT my fault."

Shepard grimaced, remembering the horrific scene that had sprawled across the mess hall. The blender had literally exploded, throwing all manner of everything to kingdom come. Kaidan had not been happy.

Tali giggled, "You really should have labeled that button better."

Jay sat down next to his friend with a huff, "I will never understand humanity's obsession with pushing big red buttons. What about a red button doesn't scream danger?"

Mia leaned around Shepard, "Care to explain what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Garrus chuckled as he and Kaidan walked up, "Jay decided it would be a good idea to weaponize the mess hall's Dextro blender."

Jay shot Garrus a look, "Weaponized is a strong word."

"Keep telling yourself that," Kaidan grumbled as Garrus continued.

"Day before yesterday, Tali was bemoaning the fact that the Dextro blender was only strong enough to mulch ration bars instead of just pasting them. Jay starts tinkering with the blender and when he's done there's this big red button right in the middle of the console. So Kaidan and I decided to figure out what it did. I wanted to take it apart, but Kaidan decided to load it up with everything he could find and turn it on."

Mia finished for the Turian, giggling, "And it exploded."

Kaidan glared at Jay, who seemed torn over whether he should hide in embarrassment or laugh with the others, "I still haven't figured out where the blades went."

Shepard's omni-tool pinged and she glanced at it, "All right guys, shore leaves over and we have our next assignment."

Garrus leaned toward her, "Where are we headed?"

"Feros."

 **oo00O00oo**

 **JUST what is awaiting the crew on Feros?**

 **WILL the Normandy crew ever find a way to get their two favorite Quarain couple to kiss?**

 **CAN Quarains kiss?!**

 **AND** ** _where the heck_** **did the blender-blades go?!**

 **Find out on the next exciting installment of: Fleet and Flotilla; the Musical.**


	2. Chapter 2: Chakwas?

**A/N: Well, the last chapter was a smashing success! Thank you all for sticking with me**

 **and for you all for your input and support!**

 **On to the Reviews!:**

 **Q by: jdude281: … The part where Tali, and Jay got arrested, Jay [getting] held for two hours wasn't necessary as Shepard could have just used her Spectre status to get them out...**

 **A: Quickly Garrus! Shoot the Heretic, before it spreads! Haha, Yeah. So, the reason they got arrested was for disturbing the peace and fist fighting in the middle of a diner, If Shepard then told the officers to buzz off, that would make it look like she was spitting on C-secs authority. The reason** ** _Jay_** **got held for two hours was because Bailey was trying to make him slip up and officially state his 'real' race.**

 **Disclaimer: Well, I was about to buy Mass Effect, but then Skyrim was on sale. But, I'm such a devoted author I withstood the temptation and- OMG A DRAGON!**

 **oo00O00oo**

Blood pools up inside my armor and spills out onto the cobblestone streets of Palavan. I can faintly hear the sounds of combat over the thumping of my fading heart beat and a Turian screaming for a medic. Tali reaches me before the medic does, grabbing my hand in hers. Her three fingered hand snatches mine, feeling for a pulse.

"Come on Jay! Just hang on a little longer; we're almost to the extraction point!"

One of the medics screams, "INCOMING!" as a mortar shell streaked toward us. Everyone scrambles out of the way, but I can't move.

In a fiery explosion of crimson carnage, I die.

And Tali laughs.

"Jay!" She teases, looking up from her Omni-tool, "You are terrible at this!"

I growl, watching the vid-game character bonelessly rag-doll his way around the 3D battlefield. Poor little virtual Turian, his life ended just moments after I started playing. I continue grumbling about the injustice of it all, not that that helps the aforementioned -floppy- Turian. Tali laughs harder.

Even Ashley has a chuckle at my expense. It's nice to see that her warming (marginally) to the non-human crew.

Shepard, Garrus, and Kaidan are currently slaughtering their way across Feros' sky-walks, and we (Liara, Tali, Ashley and Me) are in the mess hall, playing a game Ash introduced us to.

While I'm waiting for my character to regenerate, I catch sight of the good doctor Chakwas through the med-day windows.

"Tali," I whisper in a conspiratorial tone, "Come'ere."

Tali leans over, "What?"

"Chakwas, cool name right?"

"Um, Okay?"

I shut down the game and pulled up a word app on my omni-tool.

"The English language has this cool thing called anagrams, watch this."

I type a word on my dock, then show it to Tali. She stares at it for a minute, then we both burst out laughing.

"Keelah," Tali manages to chuckle after a full thirty seconds of uncontrolled laughter, "I am never letting her near my limbs again!"

Liara gave us both a quizzical look, so I show her and Ash what I've written. I could almost FEEL Doctor Chakwas' eyes boring a hole in my helmet as Ash topples out of her chair, gasping for air.

oo00O00oo

I slam my spanner down and cradle my helmet in my hand. This damn Widow is driving me insane! Every time I try to fit a shock pad into it, something overheats. I sigh and gently shove some spare parts off to the side, then check the time.

04:01 hours. Great, not only have I wasted my entire night, I promised Tali I would help her with the engines tomorrow. Today? Later. Yeah, that works. I push myself up out of my chair and stretch. Time for bed.

The corridors are empty as I silently padded through them. My stealth skills are worthy of legend, a fact Tali (and, by extension, the bruises she leaves on my arms) can attest to. I'm just passing the engine room when-

"-the silence is unsettling. If it's quiet on a Quarian ship, you know something's broken. And then you have to wake everyone in your room, find whatever's broken, and fix it. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and thinking the life support system has failed!"

I backtrack and peep into the engine room. Tali's sitting on the floor next to Shepard, a blanket thrown over both of their legs and a pillow is on the floor nearby. Has Tali been sleeping in here?

"This is the only room on the ship where you can hear the engines." Tali continued. "That's, eh, that's why I've been sleeping in here." Ask a question, get an answer, I guess.

Shepard looks shocked, "In here? On the floor?!"

Tali looks about as sheepish as a Quarain can, "Yes."

"For how long?"

"Only a week, at most. Maybe two."

Shepard's expression turns to concern, "Do you want a cot?"

Tali vehemently shakes her head, "You don't need to trouble yourself Commander, I've slept in more than a few engine rooms. Really, I'm fine."

"That admission did absolutely nothing to make me stop worrying."

I tiptoe back to the cargo hold, a cunning plan forming in my brain. On my initial visit to the Citadel, I stumbled upon a strange device that I hadn't understood the reason for it until now. I slid back onto my seat at the work table and started collecting the parts I'm gonna need. Soldering iron, old omni-tool, some carbon fiber sheets, glue, and all manner of bits and bobs.

I strip the speaker and circuit boards out of the omni-tool and set them aside for later, then cut the carbon fiber into a square shape. I cut an access hole in the edge of the square and glue the circuit boards and speaker down in the middle. Then, I use the arbor press to bend the corners of the square up into a pyramid shape and glue a magnet to the underside. Now the easy part, I program the omni-tool to play a string of white, gray, and pink noise segments in slow, fading tiers.

And I'm done! DIY noise generator.

I quick-walk back to the engine room and find it empty. Shepard must have convinced Tali to go back to her bunk.

I steal into the bunk room and flatten myself on the floor. Like a slippery shadow, I slither the length of the bunk room, pouring across the floor to the base of Tali's bunk. She tosses fitfully as I raise my hand and ever so gently attach the generator to the side of her bunk. I flip it on and nod in satisfaction at the soft thrumming it emits. Just loud enough for her to hear, and no louder. She calms instantly, rolling over and settling deeper into her blanket. I grin and sneak over to my bunk.

Before I send my suit into low power mode I whisper, "Good night Tali."

oo00O00oo

The banging started at 15:02. Tali and I are working on calibrating the engines (again) when the emergency lights flip on and the boarding warning goes off. Tali and I share a glance and rush up to the cockpit. Joker's in a fine mood when we arrive, treating the CIC to an extensive crash course in human profanity.

I grip the back of his chair and lean around him, trying to see what he sees on the screens, "What's going on?"

Joker growls and punches the com button.

"Commander, we have a problem."

The radio crackles, "Go ahead Normandy."

"Something weird just happened to the colonists, they're wandering around like zombies and trying to get in."

"Any luck?"

"No, but they're doing a number on my paint job!"

"Alright, be there in a few. Sit tight Normandy, Shepard out."

"Sit tight," Joker grumbles, "What else are we going to do?"

I throw my idea in, "We could always leave. I hear Tuchanka has wonderful weather this time of year."

Joker lifts a hand like he's holding a microphone, "And today on Krogan Weather Service, sand, wind, and a chance of nuclear fallout!"

Liara leans around the other side of Joker's chair, "Um, KWS was shut down three hundred years ago for planned genocide."

Joker does a double take, "Wait, really?"

"Really."

"Huh. Imagine that, Krogan meteorologists."

"I'm trying," Tali laughs, "but all I get is Wrex throwing meteors at people."

I snigger, "While wearing a three piece suit."

The sounds of more scrabbling and a few dull thumps reaches our ears.

Joker keys his mic, "uh, Commander, what's happenin'?"

The speaker's crackle and static before clearing, "-amn it Kaidan! five seconds, FIVE FUCKING SECONDS!"

"Commander! What is going on out there?!"

"You had one job Kaidan, ONE DAMN JOB! Joker, get Tali on the line, I need some help improvising flash-bangs."

"What?"

"The Colonists are being mind controlled by some kind of spore based plant-thing under the Exo-gene HQ. We had some chemical grenades to counteract it, but Kaidan just wasted our second to the last one. I'm hoping we can stun them long enough to incapacitate them."

"Putting Tali on now."

I grab the mic from Joker, "Commander, I have an idea, and you're not going to like it."

oo00O00oo

To hell with the Commander, I don't like this idea. It hinges on a few Biotic moves I've been perfecting, Blink and Wrap. The air-lock finishes cycling and the outer doors snap open. Without hesitating to check my surroundings, I lash out with Blink, warping space the two target points into a tiny pair of connected wormholes, allowing me to literally tunneling through space and time. In the same moment I disappear from the airlock, I reappear ten feet in the air behind the colonists trying the get into Normandy. Wrap is next, a low powered field similar to Singularity that binds each of the colonists and floats them up behind my shoulders. I land on my feet and manipulated gravity to throwing myself back into the air. I swiftly locate the next group and Blink back to the ground. Wrap makes quick work of the group and I key my suit mic when I'm done.

"Clear."

The Commander leaves her cover and casually tosses the last gas grenade into the air, landing it neatly in the middle of my flying colonists. It explodes and the colonists go limp. As if reading my mind the Commander reassures me, "They're fine, but they'll be a little out of it for a while."

I gently lower the colonists to the ground and release them, sagging in relief. Blink and Wrap are helpful as heck but require more Eezo and concentration than most Asari Commandos wield. I take a few deep breaths and remind myself to stop complaining when Liara makes me meditate. Garrus slaps me on the shoulder, sending me stumbling, "Good work Jay."

Shepard grins at me, "You have GOT to teach me those moves!"

Kaidan (Who I DO NOT like at the moment) nods enthusiastically. I shrug noncommittally, not really feeling like talking in my exhausted state.

Joker's voice comes in over my com, "Status report?"

Shepard puts two fingers to the side of her helmet, "Peachy. Jay cleaned up without so much as a scratch."

I can imagine Jokers smug grin as he looks over his shoulder, "Hear that Tal? You can breathe now."

"That's Tali'Zorah nar Rayya to you Mister 'tease-the-worried-bond-mate' Moreau."

"You sure? I could have sworn your name would be Tali'Toon by n-OW! You just broke my arm, you jerk!"

Garrus chuffs good naturedly, "Tali: one. Joker: zero."

Shepard throws her head back and exhales explosively, "Joker, go get your arm fixed. Tali, don't antagonize the invalid."

"I am not an invalid!" Joker grumbles, "I'm delicate."

"Fine. Tali, don't antagonize the ballerina."

I have to ask, "The what?"

"Look it up."

I log that for later and help Kaidan move the colonists to a more comfortable area.

"It actually didn't sound that bad."

I look up, puzzled, "What?"

"Tali'Toon."

Now I'm down right mad at him, "Better than Jane Alanko."

The human's face falls and I instantly feel like a bosh'tet, "Way below the belt, man."

There's a little awkward pause as we work.

"Hey Vartabu," I use a Kelish word as a sort of rescue line, "I didn't mean it like that..."

Kaidan gives me a hard look, and then softens, "it's okay man. We all go through that stuff with crushes."

Another pause.

"Vartadu huh? What language is that?"

"Vartabu, with a B sound. It's an informal Kelish word. Varta is an affectionate term, like darling, Vartabu means 'friend' or 'buddy', and Vartabung means stranger."

"Well, you learn something new every day."

"Human saying?"

"Yup."

I think I just made a friend.

oo00O00oo

Tali nearly tackled Jay the moment he entered the CIC. He gives her a tight squeeze and clinks the side of their helmets together.

"Mmmm," He murmured, "I missed you."

Liara was standing behind Tali expectantly so Jay reluctantly lets go.

"Did the new Biotic techniques perform adequately?"

Jay nodded, "Yes. Blink depleted my Eezo reserves by about a fourth, but it worked just like it did in practice."

"How about Wrap?"

"Easy to launch, but difficult to hold for long periods of time. And the more active Wraps I had, the harder it was to maintain them all."

"To be expected. I am impressed by the amount of concentration you displayed."

Jay sagely nodded, "Never again will I forgo meditation."

Tali huffed, "He'll be missing the next time a weapon needs repairs."

 **oo00O00oo**

 **So, informal Kelish words; Yay or Nay?**

 **Pronounced: Var-ta, Var-tä-boo, and Var-tä-bung**


	3. Chapter 3: Cold Quarians

**So, bit of a Past-Present tense change here. I just find it more constructive to write past tense then present tense. Thank you for your forced cooperation :D**

 **Also: I messed up Shepard's name in the last chapter ._.**

 **Also also: check out the poll on my page to contribute.**

 **Disclaimer: And next up on KWS: A peaceful Krogan beach storming goes bad this Friday when hidden mines are found in the sand. Few were injured in the charge but it has yet to be released if the mines will return to work on Monday.**

oo00O00oo

I had decided that the reason most beings avoided Noveria was a good reason. Quarains were more resistant to cold then most species, being semi-aquatic and encased in climate controlled Exo-suits, but that hardly mattered in the sub-zero temperatures exhibited by this ice ball of a planet. To be fair, quarain pilgrimage suits were rated to survive the freezing void of deep-space, but that was just for emergency's and swift in-flight repairs, not prolonged exposure.

So it was without hesitation that Tali and I found ourselves down in the cargo hold unpacking our latest shore leave acquisitions. If I thought it was hard convincing C-sec of my race, it had been far harder convincing the Requisitions Officer that, Yes, the Normandy did need Alliance issue parkas sized to Quarains, and that, No, this was not a prank call made in bad taste.

I paused in my unpacking when a little light blipped on my omni-tool.

"Something just locked onto us."

I keyed my mic, "Captain, someone just locked onto us."

"We know. It's Port Hanshans defenses, we're talking to them now."

"Understood Captain. Toon, out."

Tali paused, a half unpackaged parka in her hand, "You know, it almost sounds like you're saying 'tune out' not 'Toon, out'."

I cocked my head to one side, "You just said the same thing, but twice."

"No, not Toon, tune."d

I was thoroughly confused, "Okay, you lost me."

Tali ground her teeth, a high pitched noise that set pretty much every nerve in my body on edge, "Toon, with an 'O', and TUNE with a 'U'"

"Ah, I get it now."

Tali scoffed and tossed a packing peanut at me, "Idiot."

I pealed the piece of statically-charged foam off my helmet and tossed it back, "Am not."

Tali returned my gesture with a fist full of foam, "Are to."

By the time Shepard called us up to the airlock, we were absolutely covered in packing foam and had to run the anti-static programs installed in our suits before dawning our parkas

Shepard clapped a hand over her mouth when we joined her in the air-lock, a very un-ladylike snort escaping her from between her fingers.

Garrus' mandibles flared widely, "I'm glad to see my opinion of optimum weather conditions isn't entirely one sided."

I pulled the hood of my arctic camo parka up, growling, "Let's just get this over with, shall we?."

The air-lock finished cycling and cracked open, at which point Shepard yelled, "NOPE!" and mimed slamming her fist down on the door E-close button. IT WAS FREEZING! Even with the parka on, I could watch my internal thermometer slowly dropping closer and closer to the danger zone as we walked down the gangplank and out onto the boardwalk.

Tali shuffled a little closer to me and pressed into my side.

"Conserving heat." She whispered, her hand finding and entwining with mine.

I relaxed a little. That's all this is, just two friends, standing close together, conserving heat. Yup, Heat conservation. Just like when a heating coil failed on the Rayya.

Simple as that.

Yup.

"Getting a little cozy there?" Shepard raised an eyebrow and I yelped, her comment causing Tali's grip to tighten like a vice.

Garrus chuckled as I freed Tali's frozen fingers from my own, "Looks warm, mind if I join?"

"Hold it right there."

We all looked up to see two humans and a turian, all armed to the teeth, staring down the dock at us.

"That's far enough," The center officer, a human woman, stated imperiously, her palm resting lightly on her handgun, "This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials."

Shepard huffed in annoyance, "We already radioed our IDs to Port Control so they would get your unnecessarily gratuitous guns off our backsides. Honestly, the only reason for this interruption is white mutiny against a Citadel Spectre, or a display of power via a show of gross incompetence."

Shepard put a hand on her hip and struck a pose, finger tapping thoughtful on her lip, "So, which is it?"

Honestly, until that day, I had no idea humans could change color so fast. One moment, the officer was pale and bored looking. Now, she was beet red and focused intently on the Captain, murder written all over her face. At least, I assumed it was murder, being part of a race that relied primarily on micro gestures and eye shapes as a form of communication had it's drawbacks.

The other human, another woman, almost pointed her rifle at the Captain, but settled for gritting her teeth and spitting, "Show some respect. We're the law here."

I rolled my eyes behind my mask. If this was what passed as Law enforcement here, I could only hope the crime rate was especially low, or incurably insipid.

The middle woman tamped down on her anger and took a deep breath, "I'm Captain Maeko Matsuo, Elanus Risk Control Services. Seeing as how you're here and we haven't received confirmation from communications, I will ask again for your credentials."

Shepard sighed in exasperation, "Captain Shepard, Alliance Navy and Council Spectre."

"That's a load of Bull-Tiki." The as of yet unnamed human returned.

Matsuo nodded to her subordinate before returning to our team. "We will need to confirm that, Commander. For now, however, I must confiscate your firearms should you choose to wait within the port's waiting area. No one but Elanus Risk Control Services employees are permitted weapons on Noveria." She quickly turned to her officer and Shepard signaled us with a hand gesture, knowing what the Captain will try next. "Sergeant Sterling, secure their weapons."

The second, now named 'Stirling' took a step forward, and every gun our party was instantly pointed in her direction. Shepard gestured with her shotgun, "Do you really want to do this? We can be hazardous to your health."

Captain Matsuo primed her own weapon, pointing it directly at OUR Captain's face, "We are authorized to use lethal force, Commander. You have to the count of three to surrender your weapons."

Among Quarians, targeting a Captain is considered an honor-less move. They are 'the head of the snake' as humans say. Killing them is a serous blow to moral, and removes the precise and ship-unique orders that keep our ships in the sky. No-one knows a ship better then her Captain, and killing them leaves a void that may take years to fill. So pointing a gun at a Quarian's captain is just about the fastest way to get your face shot, a fact Tali and I would have been happy to demonstrate had not a voice from the intercom caught our attention.

"Captain Matsuo! Stand down." A feminine voice over the intercom interrupted us, drawing all eyes upward to the speakers. The Captain dropped her head, obviously required to listen to the faceless voice's command. "We confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorized to carry firearms while visiting Noveria, Captain."

Captain Matsuo grit her teeth, but stepped aside, "You may proceed, Spectre. I have hopes that the rest of your visit will prove to be more pleasant." She motioned to the large glass double doors a little ways down the dock, "Parasini-san will meet you upstairs."

Shepard gave the group a winning smile as we holstered our weapons and moved past them.

We all sighed in relief when the glass doors slid shut behind us and hot air blasted out of vents in the ceiling.

An alarm instantly begain to blare, but it was silenced by a woman in a long red dress silenced it with a wave of her Omni-tool.

"Weapon detectors," She stated, "Don't mind the alarms."

She stepped around the desk and smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle on the front of her dress before looking up to Shepard with a plastered-on smile. "I am Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We do apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced in the docking bay."

Shepard nodded, "Captain Matsuo seems to take her job seriously."

"Yes, She is a valuable asset to the company. The Executive Board does everything in its power to protect the privacy of all our client corporations."

That was lingo for 'Keep your nose where it belongs or else.' I guessed.

Parasini seemed to sense our skepticism, because she added, "This planet is beyond the jurisdiction of the Citadel, I assure you. The law is whatever the Executive Board says it is. They believe that discovery should not be limited by ethics laws or morality concerns." Her brows lower. "Can you imagine all the scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs that would have never came to be if those pioneers were limited in such a way?"

Yes, I can, and most of them would have been better served dying with their creators. Nukes on Tuckunka for example.

"Has anyone unusual passed through here recently?"

Parasini frowned momentarily "Unusual? Matriarch Benezia passed through a few days ago.

I glanced around as Shepard thanked the woman, taking in what I could see of the reception area. It was heavily guarded, security turrets and guards stationed at every corner and choke point. Exactly what you would expect from a planet that played a little loose with their laws.

I zoned back into the conversation just as the red dress lady was finishing, "-need any more assistance, my office is directly outside of the administrator's."

Shepard thanked the woman with a strained smile and led us deeper into the port. We all scrunched into the elevator and Shepard hit the button for the main floor.

Awkward silence reigned unchecked.

Garrus cleared his throat, "So... Tali."

"Garrus?"

"Do Quarians have undergarments?"

Shepard perked up, "You know, I've been curious about that too. I know I wear yoga pants and a tank top beneath my under-suit, but it's not like you guys can get out of your suits very often."

Both Tali and I voice the same thought, "Under-whats?"

Shepard releases a bark of a laugh and Garrus trills in surprise, "So you're not wearing anything beneath your suit?"

I'd never though of it like that. Over time our suits becomes like a second skins to us, especially on our pilgrimages, where clean rooms are few and farther between. The idea of wearing anything but my suit had been foreign to me till that moment.

"Um, no?"

Shepard smirked, "So under all your cloths, your naked?"

Tali hid her face in her hands and I groaned, pleading with the gods of my ancestors to speed this Bosh'tet of an elevator up.

oo00O00oo

 **Does this chapter do anything but prove I'm alive? No, no it does not.**


	4. Chapter 4: Shepard's not a technician

**Would you like to know the reason this chapter took so long*?**

 **I BOUGHT MASS EFFECT! ^o^**

 **Yes, after several months of you guys badgering, compelling, and poking with pitch forks, I gave in a bought ME 1 and 2. And then had to re-write this entire thing to fit the ME canon ;.;**

 ***the real answer is Collage!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, not even the OCs.**

oo00O00oo

Tali and I bumped around in our harnesses as the Mako sped up the Peak 14 access road.

"Mako," I muttered, slamming backward into my seat as the Captain accelerated up a slope, running fleeing Geth troopers down like a woman possessed, "why is it always a Mako."

"What I want to know," Garrus grunted from the gunners seat, swaying as he tried to bring the gun to bear on an armature that was rapidly drawing closer, "is why Shepard brings both of you on missions. Normally we have a three man policy, but she seems to like keeping you two together."

The roar of the main gun drowned out further speech for a few seconds, the rattatat of high power repeaters jittering our teeth around in our skulls. Shepard swung the tail end of the Mako around, slamming on the brake pedal just in time to avoid sliding us off a precipice. We skittered and slipped for a second before the tires caught on the ice, shooting us forward onto the thin mountain road. I almost felt bad for the squad of Geth we landed on, but not really.

I was not the only crew member to mutter a prayer of thanks as we clambered out of the ATV and into the hail of blistering, but preferable, snow. Garrus had taken out the door guards with the main cannon, so we made it to the door without problem, only to be jumped by a Geth colossus not a handful of seconds in. I will admit that here was some slight panic at first, but a couple overloads left the construct open to Shepard and Tali's shotguns, their shots tearing it apart. Advancing through the garage was a bit tougher, but we made it through. Tali and I tag teamed the Geth and Krogan scattered around the garage, me laying down sniper fire while she rushed the next cover spot, then her covering me while I moved up. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the Captain and Garrus using the same tactic, but with the addition of Shepard's Biotics. That's the problem with my Biotics. Most Biotic abilities are close to medium range, and I am decidedly long range. As such, I'm only able to use them every now and again, mostly throwing Singularity's so Tali could better reach our aggressors.

We finally made it to the entrance and scrambled in, Garrus sealing the door behind us. We all breathed a collective sigh of relieve, taking a second to enjoy the slight warmth of the inside world.

"Attention all facility personnel," A voice from above made us all jump out of out skins, "there is a biohazard warning on levels 1-15, please be aware..."

The voice, a prerecorded message it seemed, droned on for a few more seconds before repeating. From it we learned that the main VI had gone down and some kind of containment breach in the sub levels. Shepard nodded thoughtfully and then gave us the signal to move out.

Shepard and Garrus took point, Tali was at mid and I was on rear. We systematically swept every hall we came across, calls of, 'Right clear." "Left clear." and "Move up." echoing out across the otherwise silent coms. We found some kind of sun room further in, swarming with geth. We cleared them out fairly quick, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something watching us. I kept glancing around, trying to assuage my worries.

It was Tali the ratchni hit first, leaping through a window to land almost on her head, pincers poised to strike. For a moment, everything blurred, a second image overlaying what I saw. Some small part of me dive sideways, the rest throwing itself forward, blue haze surrounding me as I shoulder rammed the offending insect with the force of a truck, knocking it back into the wall. Without wasting time it bounced off the wall and charged me, mandibles open wide to take a bite. By throwing all of my weight backward I manged to drop into a slid, Tali's shotgun barking twice before I passed under the stunned enemy, delivering a devastating biotic punch to it's belly. To be frank, it exploded.

As Garrus and Shepard gaped, open mouthed, I winced, the view from Tali's eyes still burned into mine.

"That, Garrus" The Captain stated, pointing at the downed bug, "Is why I keep those two together."

Garrus shouldered his assault rifle and moved up, checking the window the Ratchni had emerged from before helping Tali and I to our feet.

"Room clear."

Shepard nodded and moved us up the stairs, through another ratchni pack, and into an elevator heading down. It wasn't until we had boarded the tram heading for the over half of the facility that Shepard asked, "What was that?"

I was focused so intently on the fact Tali was holding my hand that I missed her question initially. She had to ask a second time before I heard her.

"Hmm? What?"

"You killed that Ratchni before the rest of us even knew it was there."

Tali chimed in, "The Bond. When one Quarian is in danger, their bond-mate can see, feel, and hear what the other does."

Garrus seemed skeptical, "So Jay literally saw the world through your eyes?"

I nodded, "Pretty much. There are even stories among our people of lovers who lived not as individuals, but as a single being with two bodies."

"One," Tali continued, "Even claims that when the female died, her mate took her into his mind and harbored her there till he too passed."

The Captain pondered this for a second, "Sounds almost like the Geth. Multiple minds, one body.."

I was dumb struck. I had heard that story from my mother hundreds of times, and it had never occurred to me the similarities. A little seed grew up in my mind. Was it coincidence? Sure, you needed hundreds of Geth programs to make a conscience, that much was clear. But why had the Geth made that so abundantly clear, stating it over and over again? Where they trying to get to us using our own myths?

I shook my head to clear it, we were coming up on the station now, I'd worry about the geth later. Fortunately for us, there weren't any hostiles on the arrival platform. In fact, it was strangely quiet all the way up to the AI core. A single ratchni pounce in the atrium, but it was easily brought down.

"This door should lead to the AI relay. Everyone stack up," Shepard whispered, sliding off onto the left side of the door, "Tali, on right. Jay, hack the door. Garrus, pop a grenade if anything moves."

Hacking the terminal was child's play. As soon as the heavy door swished open Garrus lobbed a grenade through the portal, finger hovering over the detonation switch. Shepard and Tali moved up, but the circular server room was empty. While most of us were trying to disarm the explosive disk our turian friend had managed to adhere to the single most delicate exterior components of the server the Captain busied herself poking around with the console. The VI helpful told us what was wrong (Like a million times) and we immediately set out to remedy the situation. Funny story, it took less time for Shepard to clear out the power relay and main generator then it did for both Tali and I to talk her through the VI reboot. That may explain why I almost cried when a reporter asked if the Captain was a tech-savvy person.


	5. Chapter 5: Bonding Session

**Hz, this one is for you. Thank you for galvanizing me off my lazy arse**

 **Everyone else: Thank you so much for sticking around and continuing to toon in to my silly story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bioware or Mass Effect or any of it's characters or any of the OCs in this story. Yet… *Evil laughter***

 **oo00O00oo**

Medigel, both a life saving invention and also a rebuttal to just about any excuse to sit down and take a break. No matter how many cuts, bruises and bangs the enemy managed to inflict upon us, the Captain's simple remedy every time was to hit that little orange button on her omni-tool and pump us all full of medical miracles. In conjunction, I'm fairly sure that by the time we reached the anti-chamber to the Queen Rachni's holding cell, just about all my actual blood had been replaced by the artificial stuff.

Not that I would complain mind you, it felt great to keep my insides where they belonged, but there were some things only a short rest could fix. Suit breaches, for example. Note to self, get more emergence suit patches, melee enemies are a quarian's worst nightmare. Bullet holes are easily patched or deflected by the omnigel layer in my suit, but slashing and ripping? Not so easy to fix on the run.

I was glad Tali had thought to stuff a few extra patches in her own parka pockets, but I could already tell one of us was going to contract something infectious once this was over.

Speaking of, we were stacked up outside the final door at this point, the Captain running a count down on her fingers. Damn, do my hands really look like that? It's kind of weird, can't think of why I never noticed it until then. Distraction maybe, I'd been pretty busy.

The count reached zero and the Captain slapped the hand that had been counting down on the green door panel, then filed into the room, shotgun pressed tightly to her shoulder. Tali followed her in, the two of them sweeping the room before taking cover, the Captain then waved Garrus and I up from our cover in the door way.

I was the first to see the Matriarch and I took a shot at her, half expecting it to annoy her more then anything. Her barriers must have been just powering up though, and the shot when right through her shoulder, just below the armor. She staggered backward, dropping to one knee, blue barriers flaring up around her just a second to late to stop the projectile. Like a Geth hopper her head snapped up, and I could feel her rage filled eyes boring into my own, completely bypassing the tinted safety of my helmet.

The Matriarch pushed herself to her feet and cleared her throat, the tension between us randomly evaporating like water on a hot pipe, "Greetings Spectre, I've been expecting you."

Shepard leaned out from around her cover just enough to see the elder Asari, "Yeah? Well I think you looked pretty surprised for someone who was expecting us."

The Matriarch glanced at me, straight on, then looked back to the Captain, "I will admit that I was not aware your followers could be so… trigger happy." She held up a hand to forestall any argument, "I have but a little amount of time to resist Saren's grip on me. His ship, Sovereign, exerts some form of… control on his followers. I thought I was strong enough to fight it, but-"

Shepard interrupted, "So how do I know it's not controlling you now?"

Benezia glared down her nose at the Captain, "Once I realized what was happening, I partitioned off a section of my mind and kept it away from Sovereign's influence. The point, Spectre, is that Saren is not the one in control, it is he who is controlled, by Sovereign."

That got a quizzical eyebrow raise from most of us (Garrus did something weird with his mandibles, so I think that counts), which was ignored as she continued, "I was sent here to attain from the Queen Rachni the location of the Mu Relay, and the Conduit."

Garrus snorted, "Geeze Commander, will we ever get an answer that doesn't involve estranged and cryptic names?"

Glowering, the Captain pulled back around her cover, the witty retort poised on her lips cut off by the jagged cry that emanated from Matriarch Benezia, her body suspended in mid air while Biotics swirled around her, wreathing the asari in a rich cocoon of blue energy that was almost painful to look at.

The Captain swore colorfully, needlessly shouting, "Cover. Cover!" before a wave of dark energy blasted over the squad, freezing us in place with what felt like the most powerful Stasis I'd ever encountered. Stasis is by far one of the most annoying Biotic abilities ever invented, I will readily admit. We were only frozen for a few seconds, but that was just long enough time for an enemy squad to dash in and slid seamlessly into their position across the room. I could see a few asari commandos in the mixed rush, but for the most part it was an assortment of different geth units that stood in our way, neither opponent type looking very happy to see us.

Fire blazed around us the moment our Stasis' wore off, filling the air around my helmet with hundreds of buzzing projectiles, most burying themselves in the platform that shielded me while the rest whizzing overhead to clatter off the walls, my shields blinking once and a while to deflect a few rebounding shots. It took me a second to 'psyche up' (As Ashley said) for that first shot, the second I heard a slight lull in the barrage of incoming fire marking the same instant I was over and around the metal wall, my first shot shattering the shields of the asari moving up to flank us, and the second decapitating the Geth trooper right behind her. Tali vaulted over me as I crouched away from the edge of my cover, my back yelping in protest as the love of my life used me like a hurdle to clear the cover, her own blast of super sonic rounds smashing into the asari I had downed even before her feet touched the catwalk.

I was grinning despite myself as the next target came into view, the exhilaration of my, our bond pouring streams of liquid fire into our veins and capillaries with every movement that propelled us, every thought that graced us a shared collective of decisions and consensus made only a split second before we crafted them into a single action to be preformed as one, still red hot from the furnace as our shoulder contacting the hard metal floor in the same moment the third shot streaked out across the battlefield, leaving a wake of hot air we sprang up into, bionics propelling us up and over the cover of the enemy, every challenge, every obstruction melting away before the beauty and purity of our connection.

oo00O00oo

Shepard had to blink a few times as Tali preformed a perfect Biotic leap over the enemies cover, twisting midair to rain down death on the farthest ends of the room while Jay's rifle thundered away, one particularly well aimed shot passing straight through a cover element to shatter a particularly unlucky asari's helmet. Garrus was likewise speechless, though it was he who recovered first, snapping off a round into an encroaching geth's head before commenting dryly.

"You know, Shepard, I'm beginning to wonder why you bother bringing me along on these missions."

Releasing a hearty scoff and a blast from her weapon, Shepard transformed another of the androids into barely functioning scrap metal, "Commentary, I guess."

"Sort of like that human sport, football?"

Shepard grumbled as yet another wave of goons cycled in through the door, Jay and Tali's attention shifting to them without pausing, the assorted enemies hunkering down to avoid their fire "I'm not sure that's even related. European or American football?"

Garrus cocked his head to one side, "There's a difference?"

What ever Shepard was about to say was forestalled by one of Benezia's Biotic charges slamming into her, blowing the commander halfway across the room. She landed with a solid thunk on the grating, spitting a string of colorful curses as she slid past Jay. There was a dull thunk when her helmet contacted the wall, but that wasn't what prompted the surprised choke from Garrus and a muffled giggle from Tali as Jay's eyes widened, "Captain, did you just… squeak?"

oo00O00oo

The mood was a far different one when we returned to the Normandy, with the death of a matriarch hanging over our heads. It startled me, seeing her just, die. No fanfare, no huzzah, just a final wish to Shepard and then she was gone. And then because I was thinking about that, I was starting to wonder about everyone else I had killed. I knew most of them had been the scum of the galaxy, mercenaries and gangsters, but is was still an idea I didn't want in my head. The gloom didn't seem to extend to the human crew though, and for the most part, I don't think they really cared about Benezia's death. I suppose the enormity of the event was sort of lost on them.

My first thought was to see if I could find Liara and get some meditation done, but Dr. Chalkwas was standing guard outside her room, and based on the look I got, the asari needed some time to herself.

My second option was the Engineering bay and Tali, but the Commander was down there chatting with Wrex, and after the way she reacted to my comment concerning her, eh, vocalizations, I figured it best to avoid her as well.

So stealth it was. I skulked into the elevator, and crouched by the far wall as it descended, willing myself to melt into the metal walls that surrounded me.

"You did what?!"

The explosive outburst that can only be Wrex made me jump in place, whacking my helmet against the hand bar. Ow. The Captain responded with something I couldn't really hear, and I made use of the argument to slip by unseen, the door to the engineering bay sliding open without a whisper, admitting me in to the comfortable hum of the engines. Tali was still working on fine tuning and up-keeping the engines, her fingers flying across the keyboard in a flurry of motion. She knew I was here, just like how I knew she was.

I didn't need to say anything, just slipped up behind her and looped my arms around her shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze before saying quietly, "Hello Tali."

One of her hands reaches up to pat mine gently, the other saving whatever work she'd down. She twists around until she's facing me and hugs me back, then pushes away gently and leans back against the console, "Jay. Did you want to talk about something?"

I cross my arms casually and rest my weight on one foot. Gel boot soles are nice, but even they get a little uncomfortable after a long day, "I did, actually. I was thinking about how we were fighting, back on Noveria, and… How did that feel? For you, I mean."

Tali settled onto one hip just a little, like it she always does when she's thinking, her feet shuffled into a new position. I started to get a little nervous when she didn't answer right away, my far-too-many digits playing with the fabric on my thighs, trying to seek out the texture and follow it to it's seam. The suspense was cut in half when she finally said, "It was, I knew what was going on, but I didn't control over my actions." She paused and I see her fingers start to fidget, "Somehow I, I felt like I needed a go ahead before I did anything."

I stopped her hands from wringing by taking them in mine, squeezing her palms gently, running my thumbs over the backs of her knuckles, "A Consensus, I felt that too."

She let out a snort and closes her fingered around my wrists, squeezing in return, "When you say it like that, it almost sounds like we're geth."

I nodded slowly, "Well, I've been thinking about what the Captain said this morning, about how our people and the… geth, share some similarities. And as much as I want to deny it, I really do, i-it just makes sense!"

Tali jerked her hands away from mine, and my fingers gripped uselessly at empty air, "How could you say something like that? We are nothing like them!"

I leaned forward to speak again, but Tali cut me off with an angry wave of her hand, almost hitting me in the head, "What every you're about to say, Jay'Toon nar Rayya, I'm not going to listen. The Geth are our enemy, and it disrespects our fallen ancestors to speak of them that way."

The dull thunk of Tali's helmet contacting her hands echoed through the empty engine room, bouncing off the cold platform and back around for another go on my senses. I was stunned. This had never been such a problem before, I couldn't remember the last time we fought over something so… petty. I didn't even know what I'd done wrong. Her disappointed sigh was the next sound to slice through my ears, and it hurt more then overloading my amp ever had.

"I, I just need a minute." The warm glow of her helmet's light was blocked by her palms, her eyes squeezed firmly shut as she turns back around and refocused her attentions on the console.

"Sure," My mouth felt dry, my tongue heavy and awkward, as I too turned away, "I'll… let you work then."

"See you later Jay."

The bay doors swished shut silently behind me, cutting off the comforting hum of the engines, leaving my to wallow in silence and my own thoughts. I was glad for it, because it meant that Tali didn't seen me lean against the wall, and then slide limply down it to bury my head in my hands and replay endlessly what had just happened in my mind.

What had I done wrong?

ooOO0OOoo

"That's what happened. They stood together for a half hour or so, not a word between them, and then broke apart like they'd had a fight." Jennifer sighed and leaned back in her chair, shrugging helplessly to the glowing holo of Mia that floated above her desk, "I can't make heads of tails of it."

Mia gripped her left thumb and rubbed the knuckle firmly. It had taken years for her to get over the habit of rubbing her head when distressed, but she'd done it. And now it was back, in a lesser form thankfully, "It's their bond, it's growing stronger."

Shepard rubbed tired eyes with the heels of her hands, elbows planted on the desk as she questioned, "Isn't that a good thing? It was useful this afternoon, probably saved both their lives."

With a sigh, the quarian mother resisted the urge to copy the other women's movements, resorting to clasping them tightly and settling them on her own table, "Usually, but it takes years for normal quarian's to develop even the beginnings of the bond they have. I've talked to a few other bonded couples and I think that Jay and Tali are experiencing a sort of, adjustment period. Like swap the mods on a weapon, you need time to get used to it. They've just had everything changed all at once."

"So they need time to adjust to it." Feeling a weight she didn't know was on her heart suddenly lifted, Jennifer sat up a little and nodded, "I should go. Thank you for telling me all that."

Mia nodded as well and reached over to end the connection, "No problem. See you later Jennifer."

Standing up as the hologram flickered out, Jennifer stretched her sore back with a grunt, then set off to get some dinner. Hopefully, whatever had happened between Tali and Jay would be resolved soon, because she was going to need her team at fully capacity if they were going to be ready.

She'd just gotten a message from the Council concerning Saren's current whereabouts. They were headed for Virmire.

 **ooOO0OOoo**

 **Again, I want to thank every one for their support and love, it's been a real life saver when I'm feeling like I have no ideas left.**

 **This chapter was a little later then I said it would be because I had to rewrite the last half~ a few times to get the characters to sound right. Everyone was sort of starting to sound like Shepard… I also know that I re-wrote the dialog with Matriarch Benezia :|**

 **I have no excuse for that other then it flowed smother.**

 **Also, my OA3 account will be updating faster then , don't ask why XD**

 **Anyhow, Read and Review PLZ! I'd like to know what people honestly think of this work so far.**


End file.
